Family of Four
by Tiger.Lily.Weasley.757
Summary: Sequel to Life Here After. The Benson-Wright household adds on to their little family. They recall some fond and not so fond memories as to how it all happened.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! Here's the little sequel for **_**Life Here After**_**, I just plan on it being a few chapters, not a full fledge story. Most of it will be told through flashbacks. I really appreciate the feedback if you guys would leave me a review and let me know what you think! I have this story pretty much all written; I just have to find time to type it up. Expect a chapter or two every week! Also, for those of you that read **_**Absent Love**_** by the ever so lovely Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell, you can check out her sequel to that- **_**A Love that Melts the Heart **_**that I beta. It's a fantastic story! Enjoy, everything goes to its rightful owners. **

"When are the boys getting here, mommy?" A little girl with dark brown hair pulled up into a ponytail asked her mom. They were both sitting at a restaurant table for four, but currently there were two people absent.

"Any minute now," the mother replied patiently. She smiled at her daughter who was coloring in the pictures on the kids menu. She had always loved to draw, ever since they had met. "What're you drawing?"

The girl looked at her mom, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling. "You asked me that when we met too, remember?"

"How could I forget?"

The girl giggled, "I'm drawing our family!"

"Really? Can I see?" The mother craned her neck to look at the drawing.

"_No!_" The little girl gasped, covering up the picture with her torso. "It's not done yet!"

"Oh," the mother said, trying to hide a smile that was creeping onto her face. "I'm sorry. May I see it when it's finished?"

The daughter nodded feverishly before returning to her masterpiece. The mother smiled fondly at the girl before looking up as two figures caught her eye. She waved the figures over, immediately recognizing them. The mother elbowed the little girl gently, "There they are."

The little girl looked up instantly, a wide grin spreading across her face before vaulting out of her chair. "Daddy, you're here!"

A wide smile spread across the older man's face as he wrapped his arms around his daughter after she had nearly tackled him. The little girl released her father and looked behind him at the other person. "Hi, Cal," she greeted the tall lanky, dark haired teenager that was standing beside her father.

"Hey, Sammy, you miss us?" He winked at her teasingly.

"Well, duh."

"I have to say, I missed my favorite little sister too," the boy said.

"Calvin, I'm your _only_ sister."

"Huh, I guess you are, _Samantha_." Her brother, Calvin, looked past his sister, Samantha, to where their father was talking to their mom. His eyes lit up.

"Come on, silly," Samantha grabbed his hand and pulled him the few feet to the table.

"Calvin's here, mommy." Samantha announced.

The mother laughed, "Thank you, Sam." She and Calvin watched each other for a second before the mother opened her arms for a hug. Calvin grinned and instantly stepped into it, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and tucking her head under his chin.

"When am I going to get used to you being taller than I am?" The mother asked with a laugh.

"Never," Calvin joked, squeezing her tighter. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. How about you don't travel to another state for baseball again?"

Calvin released her, a smile on his lips, "Not likely."

"Shall we sit?" The father requested, his vibrant green eyes sparkling.

"I call sitting by daddy!" Samantha said excitedly, rushing over to sit by where her father had just sat.

"What if _I_ wanted to sit by daddy?" The mother asked, putting a hand on her hip, as she raised a teasing eyebrow at her daughter.

"You can sit on his _other_ side," Samantha pointed out.

"I suppose that could work," the mother answered. Flashing her husband a smile as she sat next to him, with Calvin sitting on her other side.

"Calm down, Olivia. There's plenty of me to go around," the father said calmly, taking a sip of a glass of water that was already placed on the table. Only the mother, Olivia, caught his playful smirk as he set down his glass.

"Right, Marcus," Olivia mimicked.

Calvin watched them banter, his head resting on his hand, an amused smile on his face.

"Okay, mommy!" Samantha announced. "I finished it!" She held out her kids menu across the table proudly.

Olivia took the menu from her and studied the picture. A smile grew across her face. The picture showed four people, two boys and two girls. The family of four was on what Olivia could make out, grass. Behind the family, a yellow mass was colored, its pink tongue hanging out. "Oh, you even drew in Abby," Olivia commented.

"I had to draw her in. She's part of the family too! Even if she's a dog."

"I'm sure Abby appreciates that very much, honey. It's a beautiful picture," Olivia told her seriously.

Samantha's grin grew wider as she took her picture back. "Thank you."

After the waiter left from taking their order, Calvin turned to his parents. "You know what I wonder?"

"What?" Marcus asked.

"If people ever notice…that we aren't really related. I mean, I don't care if they do, but I mean we all look so much like each other, I get curious."

Olivia studied both of her kids, then her husband. They all had the same dark brown hair; Marcus' almost black. Olivia, Calvin, and Samantha all had dark brown eyes; only Marcus had the green eyes.

"Hey, Calvin's right," Samantha agreed before snorting, "for once."

"_Hey!_" Calvin objected while Samantha giggled.

"I'm glad you two don't fight over everything now," Marcus teased.

"Those were always her fault," Calvin said.

"Were not," Samantha protested.

"Were too!"

"Hey, let's not go back to the old ways!" Olivia said.

They both quit arguing.

"Mommy," Samantha started."Tell me about the time you and daddy decided to get me."

"_Again?_" Calvin asked. "They've told you like dozens of times!"

"And I _like_ to hear it."

"Would you like me to, or do you want the honors?" Olivia questioned her husband.

"I told it last time," Marcus pointed out.

"Okay," Olivia took a deep breath. "Well…"

_Olivia and Marcus were sitting on the couch one night, about eight months ago. They had been married about two years, and were simply enjoying each other's company, while they waited for Calvin to be dropped off by a friend. Olivia was curled up against her husband's side, her head resting on his shoulder, eyes closed in content. Marcus had his arm draped over her shoulders and he was aimlessly drawing patterns on her arm._

"_You remember what Calvin kept asking us about after we got married?" Marcus asked, breaking the silence. _

_Without opening her eyes, Olivia said, "About another sibling?"_

"_Mhm."_

_More silence followed before curiosity got the better of Olivia. "What about it?"_

"_I was thinking," he answered simply._

_Olivia peeked up at him, "About?"_

"_Getting another child."_

_Olivia sat up to face him. "Come again? Did you just say you were thinking about getting another child?" _

"_That's exactly what I said," he responded, taking her hand. "Calvin would be a great brother, plus I just got the raise at work-"_

"_Marcus," Olivia reasoned, cutting him off. "I understand what you're saying, I really do. I would love another child, I really would. But you and I both work; we don't have an extra room. I don't want to make Calvin move again."_

"_But we do," he insisted. "I can clear out my study. I don't ever use it. That's just what it became when we moved here after getting married…"_

"_Okay, I'll play along. How do you plan on getting this said child?"_

"_Adoption, as much as I would love a child of our own, there's so many out there that don't already have homes. We can provide. Plus, a newborn wouldn't go so well with our work," he joked slightly._

"_No, it wouldn't," Olivia agreed. "I'd might as well retire." Olivia opened her mouth to say more when the doorbell rang. "We'll talk about this more later," she told him, standing up and walking over to answer the door._

"_Hey, mom," Fifteen year old Calvin greeted as he walked through the door. He stopped short as he caught the silent messages Marcus and Olivia were sending to each other. He cleared his throat loudly, "Is everything okay? I can go to the other room…"_

"_No," Olivia said. "Everything is fine." _

"_You always say something is fine when it's not," Calvin pointed out, disappearing down the hall and into the kitchen for a moment. He walked back in, carrying a soda can. "Fine doesn't fool me anymore," he said, sitting on the opposite end of the couch from Marcus. He patted the middle seat for Olivia, "Now what's up?"_

_Marcus opened his mouth to speak and Olivia shot him a warning glance as she sat next to him. "I think Calvin should be involved in this from the beginning," he said._

"_So do I," she agreed. "But I also think you and I should be able to talk about it alone first."_

_Calvin looked back and forth between the two as they argued, an amused expression on his face._

"_It's not like we're rushing into anything," Marcus said, "just discussing."_

_Olivia looked over at Calvin who was watching her closely. She sighed, "Fine."_

_Calvin gave Olivia a look and a smile crossed Olivia's face. "Okay," she responding, changing her choice of word. "Better?" She asked Calvin pointedly._

"_Much. Now what is it?"_

"_We were talking about adopting," Marcus told him._

"_Adopting?" Calvin asked slowly. He looked between the two, "Seriously?"_

"_We haven't made a decision," Olivia assured. "The subject just came up. What's your opinion?"_

"_Hel-" he started, before catching Olivia's disapproving look. "Heck to the yes!" he finished._

"_Really?" She looked into his eyes for any sign of wariness. _

"_Yes! I totally approve. I've only been hinting at it for what, two years now? It's about time you took my advice…"_

_Olivia rolled her eyes slightly at her son before turning to her husband, who was grinning. "What?" she questioned._

"_Can we?" he pleaded. He glanced over at Calvin for support. Calvin grinned at him before putting on his best begging face as he leaned onto Olivia's shoulder. "Please, mommy?"_

_Olivia laughed as she looked between the two. "You guys are pathetic. Let's send in an application and see where it goes from there."_

_Marcus and Calvin shared a triumphant grin as they high fived._

"Mommy," Samantha said interrupting. "That's not the part where I come in!"

"I thought you wanted me to tell the story of how we got you?" Olivia asked.

"I did! But _just_ the part where I come in!"

"You either get the whole story, or none of it," Calvin pointed out.

"Hmph." Samantha slumped in her seat. Her face brightened back up as the waiter brought their food. "Can I hear the rest of the story now?"

"Of course…"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter two… thanks so much for all the feedback on chapter one. I love seeing the familiar names from **_**Home**_** and **_**Life Here After**_** as well as the new names! Enjoy, everything goes to its rightful owners. **

_A few months had passed by before a New York adoption agency had contacted them, saying they were fully eligible to adopt from them. The agency wanted to meet with them right away. So, on their next free weekend, the trio went to meet with the agency._

"_It's cold," Calvin complained, shoving his hands further into his red sweat shirt as they walked towards the building. He leaned into Olivia for warmth as they were climbing the stairs to the door._

"_Oof," Olivia grunted as he pressed against her. "Remember when we were moving into our old apartment and you complained I would knock you down the stairs? The roles are reversed."_

"_Sorry," Calvin responded sheepishly, leaning off of her as they entered the doors. Past the doors, it was a large brightly lit room. There was a hallway to their left, and chairs scattered all around the room. In front of them, a woman sitting behind a large oak desk stared at them. "May I help you?" she questioned._

_Olivia walked over to the desk while Marcus and Calvin went to sit down. "My name is Olivia Benson," she told the woman, using her work name. "We have an appointment in regards to adoption."_

_The woman behind the desk stared at Olivia for a minute, as if sizing her up before she turned to her computer. "One of our workers will be with you shortly."_

"_Thank you," Olivia replied to her before walking over to join Marcus and Calvin. Before she even sat in a chair, a blonde middle aged woman walked down the hallway and into the room. She was wearing a black skirt suit, and had a manila folder in her hands. "Benson?" she called out._

_After Olivia's nod, the woman walked over to them, a slight smile on her face. "Hello, I'm Sandra Adams. If you'll follow me we can get started." She led the family down the hallway into a smaller, more private room. "Please have a seat," Sandra said, gesturing to the large round table in the center of the room._

_Olivia sat between Marcus and Calvin, while Sandra set her folder down onto the table and sat across from them. "Now, your application said you would prefer and older child, correct?"_

"_We believe that would work best with our jobs," Marcus answered._

"_Of course. Tell me about your selves," Sandra said, looking between the three. _

_Olivia explained how she was a detective for the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, how Calvin was also adopted, and explained how Marcus was a principal._

"_Wow," Sandra commented, her eyes sparkling with some emotion. _

"_Do you have anyone?" Calvin asked._

_Sandra smiled at him, "We do. Would you like to meet a potential match today?"_

_Calvin's eyes lit up. "Today? Can we mom?"_

"_What's the adoption process like?" Olivia questioned._

"_Here, we discuss with the family what would work best for them. We let the child in question meet at least once with the family. Usually that takes places at one of our foster homes, depending on the child. If both the family and the child seem to make a connection, then we launch into the paperwork straight away and the child can come and live with you as soon as then or can stay with the foster family until needed."_

_Olivia nodded so Sandra continued, "Based on your requests, I pulled…" she pushed the manila folder across the table._

_Olivia opened the folder and smiled. A dark brunette girl with chocolate brown eyes was holding a stuffed bear, smiling up at the camera._

"_Aw," Calvin commented._

"_She's adorable," Marcus agreed._

"_She is," Olivia said. Olivia scanned the piece of paper that was also in the folder. "What's her story? There's hardly anything here," she looked up at Sandra._

"_She's only been here for three weeks," Sandra explained, massaging her temple. "As you read, her name is Samantha Ray. She's nine, and as far as we know, she lived with her grandparents in Pennsylvania until they died about two months ago. A couple found her on their way back from vacation, roaming around her neighborhood, they brought her here."_

"_Has she told you anything?" Marcus asked._

_Sandra shook her head, "She hardly speaks. Her foster parents say she's improving very well, though. With the right nurturing hand, she'll be a normal nine year old girl. I understand if you have some worries, but if you give her a chance…"_

"_Of course we will," Marcus said. He looked at Calvin and Olivia, "Right?"_

"_Right!" Calvin agreed while Olivia nodded. _

"_Excellent, we can arrange a meeting this afternoon or another time that would work better for you."_

"_This afternoon is perfect," Olivia said._

"_I'll call the foster family and be right back," Sandra said, walking out of the room._

"_What do you guys think?" Olivia asked._

"_I think this little girl needs a loving home," Marcus voiced._

_Olivia smiled at him as Sandra walked back in. "I contacted the foster family; they said you're more than welcome to come. But, they said since Samantha is so nervous around new people, it might be best if only one of you come for now." _

_Olivia looked over at Marcus. "You should go," he told her. "She would probably be more comfortable around you."_

"_Okay," Olivia responded. She looked over at Calvin who was pouting slightly. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him._

"_I wanted to go," he explained._

"_If everything goes well, you're more than welcome to come later and see her, if Samantha is up to it. You could say, come over after an hour if Samantha has opened up some."_

_Calvin smiled at the idea._

"_I can take you over to the foster home if you like," Sandra offered Olivia._

"_Just let us know how it goes and Calvin and I will come visit or come pick you up when you're ready," Marcus told her, kissing her cheek as she stood up._

"_Here's the address," Sandra said, sliding Marcus a piece of paper over the table as Olivia kissed the top of Calvin's head. "Visit's usually last about an hour and a half."_

"_We'll be there."_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

_After about a twenty minutes drive, not counting the traffic, Olivia and Sandra pulled up to a nice two story house with a white picket fence surrounding it. A couple of boys a few years younger than Calvin were throwing a football in the front yard behind the fence. A woman around Olivia's age opened the front door of the house as they walked up to the fence. "Sandra," the woman greeted warmly._

"_Mary," Sandra returned, letting Olivia into the yard. "This is Olivia," she introduced once they were inside the house. _

"_It's a pleasure to meet you," Mary said kindly to Olivia._

"_You too."_

"_Samantha is in the kitchen," she said with a small smile. Nodding, Sandra led Olivia through the house into the kitchen. A little girl whose dark brown hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail was sitting at a table in the kitchen with her back to them. She was scribbling on a piece of paper with crayons. _

"_Hi, Samantha," Sandra greeted, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I brought someone to see you."_

_Olivia stepped forward and sat next to the girl at the table. Samantha didn't even look up, just continued to color. "My name is Olivia," she told the girl softly. _

_Samantha still didn't look up, only impatiently brushed a few strands of hair out of her face that had escaped from her ponytail and chose another crayon. _

"_Do you know why I'm here?" Olivia asked, nodding as Sandra gestured she would be in the other room._

_Samantha nodded slightly._

"_What are you drawing?" Olivia studied the picture. "A pool?"_

"_It's a lake," Samantha corrected quietly, glancing up at Olivia slightly._

"_A lake? Oh I see it! It's a lovely lake," Olivia complimented. "Do you like going to lakes?"_

"_My grandparents used to take me there," she answered. Samantha studied Olivia for a second before asking, "Do you have any kids?"_

"_I have a son," Olivia told her with a smile._

"_How old is he?" Samantha placed a piece of paper in front of Olivia and gave her a few crayons._

"_Oh, thank you," Olivia picked up a crayon and started to doodle. "He's fifteen, his name is Calvin."_

"_And a husband?" Samantha stared at the ring on Olivia's left hand._

"_Yes, his name is Marcus."_

"_What are you drawing?" Samantha asked, leaning forward. "The sun?"_

"_Yes! You're much better at guessing than I am."_

_Samantha grinned at her and let out a giggle, her eyes lighting up for the first time. _

"_You're very pretty," Olivia told her._

_Samantha's cheeks became red as she blushed. She turned her attention back to adding more details to her picture, "Thank you." She bit her lip before looking back up at Olivia, "Can I meet your family?"_

"_Would you like to?"_

_Samantha nodded._

"_Hey, Sandra?" Olivia called out, smiling comfortingly at Samantha who looked alarmed._

"_Yes?" Sandra asked, sticking her head in the door._

"_Samantha would like to meet my family. Think we can make that happen?" She winked at Samantha, causing the girl to giggle again._

_A wide smile broke across Sandra's face, "Absolutely."_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

_After fifteen minutes of more coloring and creating small talk with Samantha, the girl moved her hair out of the eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time._

"_Here, you want me to fix your ponytail?" Olivia offered._

_Samantha's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she nodded and pulled the elastic band from her hair and handed it to Olivia as she stood up from her chair and walked behind her. Olivia combed her fingers through Samantha's dark locks a few times before gathering it into a ponytail and putting the band back on. "Better?" Olivia asked as she sat back down._

"_Much, thank you."They both heard the front door open and Samantha looked at Olivia, eyes full of fear._

"_Shh, it's okay," Olivia assured. She ran her arm across the girls arm slightly. Olivia smiled warmly at her husband and son as they walked into the kitchen. Marcus moved to sit on Olivia's other side after Calvin chose to sit by Samantha, across from Olivia. _

"_Hi," Calvin greeted, pulling a piece of paper over to him._

"_You're Calvin," Samantha stated simply._

"_Uh-huh. You're Samantha," he said with a smile._

"_Yup," she said, giggling slightly._

_Olivia grinned at the two. "Samantha, this is Marcus," she introduced._

"_Hello," she greeted with a shy smile in his direction._

_Marcus waved, smiling fondly at her._

"_I get to live with you guys right?" Samantha blurted out._

_Olivia and Marcus shared a look while Calvin said, "I hope so."_

_Samantha turned to him, "Really? Why?"_

"_We have a lot in common."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well," Calvin started, "we were both adopted, or going to be, in your case. My grandparents died too," he told her softly._

_Samantha stared at him. Sandra walked back into the room, "I know you four are having fun, but our time is up."_

"_Noo!" Samantha whined. She wrapped her arms tightly around Olivia's waist once she had stood up._

"_Aw, sweetie, we'll come visit again real soon, okay?" Olivia told her, rubbing her back soothingly. _

"_Promise?"_

"_Pinky promise," Calvin supplied._

_Samantha released Olivia, "Okay." She walked with them to the door. "Bye," she told them waving as the front door shut after they left._

"_You guys sure make an impression," Sandra said, turning to them once they reached the cars._

"_A good one I hope," Calvin said with a snort._

"_Very," Sandra said. "Samantha hasn't opened up to anyone of us like that. We've tried everything."_

"_That's a good sign then, right?" Marcus asked._

"_If you're interested in adopting her…" Sandra trailed off._

"_We are," Calvin insisted. "What?" he asked after he caught the amused looks Marcus and Olivia gave him._

_Olivia shook her head at him, "We're interested."_

"_Great. I can start the paperwork right away."_

"_How long will that take?"_

"_It varies," Sandra said. "She can stay with the foster family for awhile if this is happening too fast."_

"_Can we come get her tomorrow?" Marcus asked._

"_I don't see why not. I'll go back inside and talk with Mary and I'll contact you tonight. Would you like to tell Samantha yourselves tomorrow if everything works out?"_

"_Please."_

"_Very well. I'll contact you tonight."_

"_Thank you."_

"Now we're getting to the good part!" Samantha exclaimed, dipping one of her fries into ketchup.

Olivia smiled at her, "We certainly are."

"I'm glad you picked me," Samantha told them.

"We are too," Calvin said. "No matter how mad we get at each other when we fight, I really do like you."

"Aw, Cal," Samantha teased. "I love you too."

Calvin smiled at her while blushing. Olivia leaned into Calvin fondly.

"Okay, back to the story!" Samantha said, looking at Olivia expectantly.

"Where was I? Oh yes…"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's the last chapter! Sorry for the delayed update, school's been unusually incredibly busy this week. Thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot! There will not be another sequel to this. Possibly some one-shots if I get an idea, but no promises there! Enjoy, everything goes to its rightful owners. **

_The next morning, Olivia, Marcus and Calvin were driving back to the foster house. Sandra had called them a few hours after they returned home yesterday, confirming it was okay that Samantha lived with them while the adoption was being finalized. Right after the phone call, Marcus had quickly cleared out his study, setting up the twin bed they kept in storage and packing all of his things up in boxes and putting them in place of the bed in storage. They would go shopping for other things once they got Samantha settled in. _

_Olivia groaned as Marcus pulled the car to a stop at another red light. His lips turned up in a smile as he turned his gaze to her. "Sorry, I already almost ran the last three lights, didn't want to test my luck."_

"_Even if we did get pulled over, I could've flashed my badge," Olivia responded, keeping her face serious. Calvin laughed from the middle of the backseat. Olivia loosened her seat belt in order to twist her torso to face him. "What?"_

"_You would never do that," he told her. _

"_Desperate times calls for desperate measures."_

_Calvin snorted, "And you say __**I'm**__ impatient." The light turned green and Olivia returned to facing forward in her seat as the car started moving again._

"_Why are you in such a hurry, exactly?" Marcus asked. "I mean, we're all excited to get her… but you're almost unusually excited. As Calvin put it, almost impatient."_

_Olivia shifted slightly, "It must be a mom thing. I just feel like…like Samantha has been part of the family from the beginning. And that she's just been away for awhile. It's hard to explain, I'm just really need to get her home, with us."_

_Marcus nodded as he pulled up to the foster house. "That's understandable." He paused as he got out of the car and then walked over to the sidewalk where Olivia and Calvin were waiting with Sandra. "You're a very motherly type," he finished._

"_That's why you're so good at it," Calvin said, smiling at Olivia._

"_Aw," Olivia said, wrapping her arm around his waist._

_Sandra smiled at the three of them. "Shall we?" She led the way through the front gate and up to the door. She knocked softly and took a step back to wait. After a minute and still no answer, Sandra reached forward and knocked again, louder this time._

"_Maybe no one's home?" Calvin suggested._

"_I called Mary before leaving and she said she would be home all day," Sandra said, knocking again._

_The door finally pulled open and Mary offered an apologetic smile as she let them in. "Sorry…we had some…issues."_

_Sandra raised a questioning eyebrow. "Issues?"_

"_I told Samantha to go pack up her things," Mary explained, looking between the four. She sighed, "She thought I was sending her to a different foster home so she threw a huge tantrum, yelling about how her new family would never be able to find her."_

"_Where is she?" Olivia asked._

"_Upstairs, first door on the right," Mary responded. Olivia nodded and quickly climbed the stairs, Calvin following her. "Marcus said he'll be up in a minute," Calvin explained once he reached the top of the stairs._

_Olivia walked to the first door on the right, it was cracked, and Olivia could hear items being thrown inside. She knocked softly before pushing the door open slightly. Peeking her head into the room, Olivia saw Samantha sitting on the bed at the opposite end of the room, her back to the door, throwing stuffed toys against the wall. The little girl sniffed and ran her shirt sleeve across her face. Olivia pushed open the door further and walked in._

_Samantha froze as soon as she heard the sound of footsteps entering her room, her body going completely tense. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around them before burying her face against her arms. Olivia quietly walked the rest of the distance to the bed and kneeled down in front of her while Calvin stood in the doorway of the bedroom._

"_Samantha," Olivia said softly, resting her hand against the girl's leg._

"_You're not Olivia," was Samantha's muffled reply._

_Olivia held back her laughter, "Who would I be then, sweetie?"_

"_Miss Mary with a voice recorder," she retorted._

"_Why don't you open your eyes and see if it's Miss Mary or not," Olivia suggested._

_Samantha peeked an eye open through her arms and Olivia smiled at her. Samantha sat up but still kept her arms wrapped around her legs. "That's a really good costume, you look just like Olivia."_

"_I __**am**__ Olivia," Olivia insisted. "See?" She pulled on her own cheeks, trying to prove it wasn't a mask._

"_And how could Miss Mary have a costume for me too?" Calvin asked from the doorway._

_Samantha looked over her shoulder as Calvin walked further into the room. He sat next to her on the bed. _

_Samantha stared at him, then at Olivia. "Where's Marcus then?"_

"_Downstairs, talking to Sandra and Mary," Olivia told her. _

_Samantha frowned, "Why?"_

"_Because," Olivia started, from where she was still crouched in front of the bed on the floor. "The reason Miss Mary wanted you to pack up, and the reason we came, is because we want to adopt you, Samantha."_

"_Adopt…me?" Samantha repeated slowly._

_Olivia nodded._

_Samantha looked up at Calvin who grinned at her. "You'd share your mommy with me?"_

"_Of course I'd share __**our**__ mom with you," he answered._

_Samantha looked back down at Olivia, her eyes wide. "Well, what do you say?" Olivia asked her. "Would you like to come live with us?"_

_Samantha's lower lip started to tremble as she nodded. She slid off her bed, and wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck tightly, causing Olivia to lean back and fall to the floor into a sitting position. Olivia held the trembling girl against her, tucking her head under her chin. "Shh," she murmured to her, pressing her lips against her dark brown hair. Olivia looked up at Calvin who was grinning at the two of them. She smiled back at him._

_Samantha pulled back after a minute, and quickly got up._

"_Where are you going?" Olivia questioned._

"_I gotta pack my stuff up!" Samantha answered excitedly, quickly grabbing a purple duffle bag that was lying on the ground behind her door. She pulled open the dresser that was in the room and quickly started shoving clothes in._

"_Hey, let me help you," Olivia called out. Calvin stood up and offered Olivia a hand. She grabbed onto his hand, and he pulled her up. "I'll go wait with Marcus while you two pack."_

"_Okay," Olivia told him as he walked back down the stairs. She walked over to Samantha. "Here, things will fit better if we fold them up." She gently took the duffle bag from her, and set it on her bed. She took all of the clothes that were inside and dumped them next to the bed before folding each one of them up before placing it back inside the bag. _

_Once they were finished, Samantha was nearly bouncing off the walls. "Can I go see Marcus?"_

_Olivia smiled, "Sure, go ahead. I'll be right down with your stuff."_

_Samantha sprinted out of the room and Olivia could hear her practically flying down the stairs. She zipped up Samantha's bag and flung it over her shoulder before making her way down the stairs. When she made it to the bottom, Sandra and Mary were looking out the front door. Mary turned as Olivia walked over. "I don't see how you and your family do it."_

"_Do what?" Olivia walked over to the front door. Outside, Samantha was on Marcus' back for a piggyback ride, while Calvin was chasing them. Olivia smiled fondly at the sight._

"_Samantha hasn't had any interest for physical contact at all with us, no hugs or shoulder rides… and yet she meets your family and…"_

"_She's a whole different girl," Sandra filled in. _

"_If you don't mind me asking, how did you come to adopt Calvin? If you hadn't have mentioned anything, I would have assumed he was your biological son," Mary said._

_Olivia smiled, "Calvin's very special. I met him on a case for work, and cutting the story short, I was granted parental rights for a few weeks. After that, his mother sent him to his grandparents before going to jail. Nurses called me from a hospital a few hours away months later, where he was put after the hotel room he was staying with his grandparents burnt down. They were killed, and he told us his uncle had abused him. He's been with me ever since."_

"_And Marcus? Has he always been in the picture?"_

"_Haven't you read our file?" Olivia asked her._

"_No, I let my husband do that," Mary said. "When I meet the family, I want to make my decision on connecting with the child, not on their background information."_

_Olivia nodded, "Marcus was Calvin's middle school principal. We met after I dropped Calvin off one day. He transferred to a different middle school in the area once he and I started getting serious, for Calvin's sake and not to break any school rules. We've been married a little over two years now."_

"_How sweet," Mary said with a smile. "Well, I know Samantha is itching to leave so I won't keep you any longer."_

"_Thank you, both of you, for everything."_

"_Well you're not getting rid of me quite yet," Sandra said, her eyes sparkling. I'll be making visits every month until the adoption is finalized."_

"_Of course. I'll see you then."_

"_Bye, Samantha," Mary called out as Olivia walked towards her family. Samantha waved as Marcus carefully set her back onto the ground. "Everybody ready?" Olivia asked._

"_Yup!" Samantha answered, giggling as she followed them to the car. "I can't wait to see my new home!"_

_Olivia and Marcus shared a smile as they got into the car. Calvin and Samantha climbed into the backseat. _

"_You think Abby will like me?" Samantha asked, a worried expression on her face._

"_Abby loves everybody," Calvin assured her. "But I'm sure she'll love you the most."_

_Samantha beamed at him as the car drove away from the foster house._

"Yay!" Samantha clapped.

"How was that?" Olivia asked.

"You definitely get an A plus for the story," Samantha said.

"What about the rest of the story?" Calvin said. "All the other stuff that leads up to here?"

Olivia narrowed her eyes at Calvin. He grinned at her.

"We can save those for next time," Samantha said.

"I'm sure your mom really appreciates that, honey," Marcus said, wrapping his arm around Samantha's shoulders. She leaned against him with a yawn.

Olivia smiled, "Someone's tired."

"I am not," she protested.

"How late were you up?" Calvin asked.

"Like…one," Samantha answered.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at her. "I said goodnight to you at ten. Why were you up until one, exactly?"

"I was reading…I love you mommy!"

Olivia let it slide, laughing slightly, "Love you too, Sammy."

"It feels good to be all together again," Calvin commented.

Olivia nodded as she leaned onto his shoulder and held Marcus' free hand under the table, "It sure does."


End file.
